Hey Kickstarter, my name is Rob and I'm Ryan, we are the founders of Norton Point:
Ocean Plastic Sunglasses; Norton Point is a brand about adventure and giving back.
About a year ago, Rob and I got together to talk about
starting a business, we realized that ocean plastics was a huge problem facing
our environment; being here, we've seen the problem of ocean plastics is much
bigger than we ever imagined. The ocean plastic that you commonly refer to
actually doesn't begin in the ocean, it's born on land, individuals are throwing
away their trash, their plastic bottles, and they don't have a proper way to dispose
of it, so commonly here in Haiti, they throw it into the street or a canal,
which eventually pushes that plastic through waterways into the ocean; once
it's in the ocean, we lose complete control over that material. So I think at
Norton Point, one of the cores of what we're trying to do, is create a value
chain; one of the problems, is the value chain, for the use of ocean plastics, does
not exist, because it's so much cheaper to buy virgin plastic, and that's what
we're trying to do, we're trying to show that there's value in this plastic, we
want to prove to the world, by initially selling sunglasses, that they should be
buying this plastic, that you guys will want to buy these sunglasses, made
from ocean plastic. The process, from start to finish, is that you have a local
entrepreneur, the Collector, and the Collector goes around and grabs plastic
and bring it to the collection center, it's probably about 25 to 30 collection
centers throughout Haiti; those collection centers, weigh the plastic,
pay them for the plastic, and then it ends up going to a recycling facility,
which processes the plastic down and sells it on the open market, and
ultimately, that's where we would buy it, but what we've decided to do, is to pay
ten times as much of the market rate, so that it can trickle down to the Collectors
and turn to a better life for them.
You know, Haiti is a pretty amazing place, we thought we were just coming out here
to get plastic from the canals and the beaches, to make ocean plastic sunglasses,
but the mission has really expanded since then, you see, Haiti is such a beautiful country,
the people are great, but they're struggling and they need help,
one of the ways they started to help themselves is by collecting plastic
and turning that plastic into money, which to them means education, it means
food, it means a roof over their head, it means electricity, it means medicine,
there are tons of bottles from all different brands and companies, but there's
really no responsibility, companies produce the plastic and it ends there.
One of the things that we have to realize, as consumers, is that we have a
choice, to put pressure on the global supply chain or brands and companies,
that use a lot of this plastic, to really think where does this plastic end up and
how do we stop it from flowing into oceans, how do we stop it from clogging
the streets and canals? It's up to us to make that choice, to say to brands, "hey,
you should really be using this other material", it's also providing a living
for some of the people, that these problems are the worst.
And what's really amazing, when we come out here, and see what the Haitian people
are capable of, everybody here is hustling to do something, everybody
is working hard start a business, they have the strong entrepreneurial spirit,
just like so many of us in the U.S, no one gives up, and you realize, this is the
place where this can happen, people are ready to do it, but it just depends on us,
are we willing to make that choice to support them? So at Norton Point, we're really a
three core tenant: transparency reinvestment, innovation, ever pair of
Norton Points, on the tip, we're putting the latitude and longitude of where your plastic was found,
so you can trace it back to where your plastic was coming from, but we're also doing,
is committing to our 1 to 1 pledge, for every product we sell, we're committing to take
one pound of plastic out of the ocean, the second piece of what we're doing is
reinvestment, we're going above and beyond, and giving back five percent of net profits
to the Ocean Conservancy, our nonprofit partner, the Plastic Bank, our team on the
ground here in Haiti. This concept of making consumer products out of ocean
plastic, doesn't really exist, we're going to have to constantly innovate to make this
this product better, to make other products, to make collection better, put ocean plastics on
the map, and make people want to look for ocean plastic in the products they buy;
with every pair of Norton Point Sunglasses that you buy, that has a direct
impact of hundreds if not thousands of Haitians, who's going through the streets
collecting material, so it really comes down to a conscious decision that we
would love for you to make, there is a real impact that we can all make to this
beautiful country and our oceans. So there you have it Kickstarter, you've met
up, we're shared our adventure, seen our products, and now we need your help to take it to
the next level. We're looking for thirty seven thousand dollars to help us create
the molds for our sunglasses, purchase our initial ocean plastic material, and
open up our very own collection center right here in Haiti. Thank you so much
for taking the time to watch our video. Let's clean up coastlines around the
world, provide a better life for people on the ground in Haiti, and put an end to
ocean plastics.
Hey Kickstarter, I'm Ben Kneppers, one of the co-founders of Bureo, a company focused on creating innovative
solutions to ocean plastics, and I'm Thomas Kimber, the founder of Karun,
the company focused on creating the best quality eye-wear, made from reclaimed natural
and noble materials. Together, we're here to present you, The Ocean Collection, the
first sunglasses made from recycled fishing nets, collected along the coast
of Chile, preventing a harmful form of ocean plastic, these durable nylon frames
are made from a hundred percent recycled materials; combining our nature inspired
designs, and highest quality components, we're excited to join Bureo and
connect the recycling program with our designs. These premium recycled frames
bring new sustainable material benchmarks for the eye-wear industry, while
leaving a positive impact in our natural environment. Thanks to the support from
our Kickstarter campaign, a year ago, we've been able to continue developing
our net collection recycling program, NET Positiva, with the ocean collection, we're
excited to expand NET Positiva, while keeping with our mission to create
innovative solutions to ocean plastics.
Fishing nets make up an estimated 10% of the ocean's plastic pollution; through
this project, we're able to expand our net collection points, as well as build
meaningful support systems to coastal communities most affected by these forms
of waste. Working with a leading design team, we have learned from natural
elements, to fit design, to the life-style that we live, as outdoor enthusiasts; we have
teamed up with one of the best Italian eye-wear manufacturers, and selected
premium polarized concise lenses, to make sure that the most sustainable sunglasses in
the market are within the best quality you can find, for a truly remarkable
visual experience.
We have thoroughly planned out our supply chain to produce our sunglasses
as responsibly as possible, the plastic in every pair, can be traced back to the
fishing communities where the old fishing nets are collected and recycled
here in Santiago; the result is the first sunglasses frames made from a hundred
percent recycled fishing nets with no added dyes or chemical coatings, while
delivering the same quality and performance, as the best sunglasses in
the market. If your sunglasses ever meet their end of life, we'll reward you for
returning them back to us, so we can recycle them again.
Combining our years of experience in eye-wear, with the best partners, we're taking
this project from initial design to our final prototypes. Now we need your help.
We want you to be a part of the story, please help us to launch The Ocean
Collection for cleaner oceans, and expanded support for coastal communities,
we're confident you'll see the quality in these glasses and be incredibly proud
to wear them. Thanks for your support.